


A Case of Nerves

by Hexiva



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Disabled Character of Color, Established Relationship, James Bond Has a Desk Job, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Retirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29409372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexiva/pseuds/Hexiva
Summary: Years after their missions together, Bond invites his boyfriend Leiter out on a special date at a fancy restaurant.
Relationships: James Bond/Felix Leiter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	A Case of Nerves

**Author's Note:**

> Another randomly generated prompt, "Bond/Leiter, nervous." For MI6 Cafe's Rarepair February.

Bond is half an hour early to his date with Leiter. The maitre d’, who Bond once saved from a stray bullet during the attempted assassination of a diplomat by Russian agents, kindly allows Bond in ahead of his reservation. Bond rather thinks the man recognized Bond’s visible anxiety, and took pity on him.

Francois’s is one of the top restaurants in London, and it cost Bond a pretty penny, on a civil servant’s salary, to get in here. Still, some things are important to him. Food, and tradition. Bond’s always been an old-fashioned sort of man. He wants to do this  _ properly.  _

Leiter arrives just on time, as is his habit. Bond catches one of the other diners covertly staring at Leiter’s prosthetic hand, and Bond gives the woman his most homicidal glare. She looks quickly away.

The prosthetic arm and leg are a souvenir from that last mission together. Bond doesn’t like to think of it often. He came so close to losing Leiter, in that SPECTRE cell under Lyutsifer Safin’s cruel gaze. Leiter has a bit more of a sense of humor about it. After that mission, Leiter had been taken off of active duty and taken up work as a detective, while Bond had resumed his work for MI6 - at a desk job this time. Retirement hadn’t suited him. And over the years, it had seemed, Leiter had spent more and more time in London. More and more time in Bond’s flat, until, a year ago, he made it official and got his visa to immigrate. 

Bond stands and greets Leiter with a hug and kiss on the cheek, which Leiter returns, and they sit down together. Leiter is clad in a black silk shirt, no tie, under his black jacket, and Bond thinks he looks fantastic. 

“Nice place,” Leiter comments, leaning back in his chair. “What’s the occasion? You don’t usually spring for the big-budget places when you’re not on the company dime.”

Bond chuckles. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been on the company dime for years now. Perils of a desk job - no expense account.” He tilts his head. “You don’t know what day it is?”

Leiter shrugs. “It is November 17th, 2026. Why - is it our anniversary?”

Bond laughs. “Hard to say just what our anniversary is. Is it the first time we fucked, the first time we kissed, or the first time you saved my life?”

Leiter laughs along with him. “All right, so we didn’t exactly do everything in the right order. Don’t leave me in suspense. What day is it?”

The waiter arrives, with a bottle of champagne and two glasses, and Bond pours himself a glass, then toasts Leiter with it. “Today is the day we met, all the way back in 2006.”

Leiter quirks his eyebrows. “The Le Chiffre mission? God, that was a long time ago . . .” He filled up his own glass, took a sip, and nodded in appreciation. “I have to admit,” he said, eventually, “I didn’t think you’d want to remember that mission. Not after . . .”

Bond looked down. “Well,” he said, softly. “I have to remember her sometime, after all. And it’s been twenty years. I was a different man back then . . .” He looked away, out the restaurant window, away from Leiter. “For awhile there, after she died, I thought I’d never love anyone again. Much less meet anyone I wanted to  _ marry  _ again. But she wouldn’t have wanted me to wait for her forever. She would’ve wanted me to live my life.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Bond noticed the slight stiffening of Leiter’s shoulders, the way his eyes flickered to Bond’s, and then followed them out the window.  _ So he’s nervous too,  _ Bond thought. 

“‘Marry,’” Leiter said, sipping his champagne and affecting casualness. “That’s a big word.”

“For as much as I spent on this reservation, it had damn well better be a big word,” Bond said, adjusting his bow tie compulsively. His eyes flickered to Leiter, and he steeled his nerves.

Leiter met his gaze. “James,” he said. “Are you trying to ask me something?”

Bond held up one finger. “I’m not asking yet,” he said. “I have to get down on one knee for that.”

And he stood, reaching inside his tuxedo jacket for the little box he had brought with him, and sank down to one knee on the restaurant floor. He thought,  _ Damn. My knees are too old for this,  _ as his joints protested.

“Felix Leiter,” he said, looking up at his old friend and flicking open the box to reveal the plain gold band. “Will you marry me?”

Leiter looked down at Bond, and smiled, and his eyes were so full of warmth and love and familiarity that Bond quite forgot why he had been nervous. “Do you even need to ask?” he said.

“Well,” Bond said, smiling. “It  _ is  _ traditional.”

Leiter leaned over and pulled Bond to his feet and into a passionate kiss. 

“So shall I take that as a yes?” Bond said breathlessly, when they broke the kiss.

“Yes,” Leiter said, leaning in to kiss Bond again. “The answer is yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please leave a comment <3


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